“Holly,” the woman on the right said, “good morning. Is this your mother?”

This was probably one of the two Mrs. Englishes. She was in her midthirties, rosy-cheeked and wholesome, and dressed casually in a striped tunic and leggings.

Since Wendy and I look nothing alike, I was surprised she had confused us. I held out my hand. “I’m Holly and Noelle’s aunt, Ryan Gracey. The girls’ mother is my sister, and I’m filling in while she’s out of town.”

“Gretchen English, Holly’s teacher,” she said, shaking my hand with vigor. “I was told they were staying with your mother.”

“Not anymore.”

“I see.” She turned to the girls. “You run inside now. School’s about to start.”

Neither girl said goodbye or gave a backward glance, which probably surprised the teachers but not me.

I smiled at Mrs. English to show I was really a nice person, no matter what the girls believed. “My mother says I’ll need to complete some paperwork so I can pick them up and be the official contact until my sister comes home.”

She inclined her head to one side, as if she wanted us to have a little privacy. We sidestepped a bit so we wouldn’t be easily overheard.

She didn’t waste time. “I’m worried about Holly.”

I couldn’t add that I was, too, because as far as I knew, my niece’s behavior was perfectly normal for her.

She didn’t wait for an answer. “A lot of mornings she seems tired. Exhausted, actually. She’s fallen asleep at her desk more than once. I need to have a conference with her mother.”

I could relate because I needed one, too. “I’m not sure when Wendy’s coming home. But I’ll certainly mention it when she does. Did you tell my mother this?”

“No. I haven’t met your mother. This is my first week on morning duty. And I thought it would be better to talk to Holly’s parents about giving her an earlier bedtime. But her father’s away in the navy, right? And since her mother’s absence seems ongoing...”

“I’ll be absolutely sure she gets to bed early enough for a good night’s sleep. You can count on that.”

“Sleep is so important.” She paused. “Along with an absence of stress.”

I thought about all the stress in the girls’ lives. “I’ll keep things as calm as I can.” I gave a firm nod.

“You will tell their mother to get in touch with me?”

I planned to add that request to my long list of things to tell, ask and insist on with Wendy.

Inside the school I talked to the administrator, who gave me a form to fill out and one for my mother to sign. He told me to bring them back that afternoon. Since Mom had been designated “temporary guardian,” he seemed to feel the forms would cover it.

I walked back to the town house at an even slower pace. The first part of my day hadn’t been a trip to the amusement park. The next part was going to be less so.